Aid Device for Elastic Support Stockings

ABSTRACT

An aid device suitable for assisting a person to put on tight elastic support stockings is made of flexible low-friction sheet material, and includes a central body portion including a distal edge and a proximal edge; a first side edge and a second side edge; a first engagement area arranged along the first side edge; and a second engagement area arranged along the second side edge. An elongate pulling handle for removing the device from the user&#39;s foot by exerting a pulling force is attached to an engagement area and/or to a side edge of the central body portion, and has a longitudinal extent that makes an angle in the range between 60° and 90° with the side edge.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates in general to an aid device for assistinga person to put on tight elastic leg-covering apparel. The presentinvention relates particularly to an aid device for assisting a personto put on tight elastic support stockings, although a user can alsoapply the aid device when putting on other type of apparel, as desired.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Normally, when apparel such as trousers are put on, the user pulls atthe upper end of the trousers end pulls them up along his leg. Thetrouser leg slides along the user's leg, wherein the trouser legexperiences friction which the user has to overcome by exerting pullingforce. High friction is encountered when passing the heel. The amount offriction is higher as the trousers are more tight, and as the user's legis more damp.

The same applies, yet to a larger extent, to elastic support stockings,which due to the nature of their function have to be very tight andnarrow. Putting them on does require high pulling force, especially forpulling the stocking past the heel, because the stocking will benarrower than the leg's “diameter” at the position of the heel, up tothe point where the risk exists that the stockings are torn apart; inany case, the high pulling force causes wear and tear of the stockings.

Furthermore, elastic support stockings are typically applied as amedical aid, and users who need to use such aids also tend to have lessstrength in their arms and hands, to the extent that they often need tobe helped by other persons, which makes that they are less independent.

Thus, there is a desire to provide an aid device to reduce the problemsmentioned. This desire is well-recognized, and aid devices have alreadybeen proposed and are actually commercially available. A particular typeof aid device, to which the present invention relates, is made from asheet of thin, flexible, smooth material having a particularly lowfriction coefficient. A typical example is a cloth of plastic providedwith a low-friction coating. Such material is known per se, and theknown material can be applied in implementing the present invention,therefore a more detailed description of this material may be omittedhere.

In general, the use of such aid device can be described as follows.First, the sheet is brought to an operation condition by folding orrolling it to take a tubular shape, and is arranged around the leg andfoot of the user. Then, the elastic support stockings are put on overthe sheet-covered foot and leg of the user. Thanks to the low-frictionsurface of the sheet, the elastic support stockings slide over the sheetquite easily. Finally, the aid device is removed from between the legand the stockings.

When the stockings have open toes, it could be possible to remove theaid device at the toe side, but this requires pulling in a directionaway from the user, which is not very easy for a user to do by himself.Further, the aid device should also be applicable in the case ofstockings with closed toes. Therefore, aid devices are designed to beremoved from the upper end of the stockings, using an upwards pullingforce, which is relatively easily done by the user himself.

For exerting such removal pulling force, the aid device is provided witha pulling handle at the proximal end (upper end) of the aid device. Animportant aspect of the design of the aid device is that the pullinghandle does not pull at the proximal end but at a more remote end of theaid device. This causes the aid device to be folded back over itself,wherein the folded-back portion is between the stockings and thenon-folded-back portion of the aid device, so that the folded-backportion slides easily over the non-folded-back portion with virtually nofriction, and over the stockings at just low friction; during removal,the aid device is not required to slide over skin.

A further important aspect of the design of the aid device is thatengagement means are present for maintaining the operational conditionof the sheet. When the aid device is being removed, this action shoulddisengage the engagement means.

It is a general objective of the present invention to provide animproved aid device. Particularly, the present invention aims to providean aid device with improved user convenience.

An aid device of the type described above is disclosed in EP-2478800. Inthis device, the pulling handle is attached to the distal end of the aiddevice, near the toes, at a central upper position, and the pullinghandle extends longitudinally parallel to the foot and leg. On the otherhand, the engagement means are located below the foot. As a consequence,the user may in practice experience difficulties in disengaging theengagement means. Further, with a single pulling handle at a centrallocation, the actual removal of the aid device is not very convenientsince the material of the aid device tends to rumple and screw up ratherthan be neatly folded. Further, EP-2478800 discloses that the aid deviceis preferably provided with a toe piece attached to the distal end ofthe aid device and intended to be folded back over the toes. With thesingle pulling handle at the central location as disclosed inEP-2478800, in practice, said toe piece tends to be pulled in betweenthe user's toes and/or to bend the toes backwards, which isuncomfortable and/or painful, increases friction, and may cause damageto the material of the toe piece, while even the aid device may tear up.

Further, with the single pulling handle at the central location asdisclosed in EP-2478800, a relatively high pulling force is required.

It is a specific objective of the present invention to provide an aiddevice in which these drawbacks are eliminated or in any case reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention, a pulling handle is attached to a side edgeof the device, extending substantially perpendicular to that side edge.Preferably, two such pulling handles are arranged at respective oppositeside edges. With such arrangement, pulling the aid device from between astocking and the user's leg is much more easy and convenient.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other aspects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will be further explained by the following description of oneor more preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings, in whichsame reference numerals indicate same or similar parts, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a portion of an aid device accordingto prior art;

FIG. 2 schematically shows the aid device of FIG. 1 in folded condition;

FIG. 3A is a plan view comparable to FIG. 1 of an aid device accordingto the present invention;

FIG. 3B is a schematic cross section along the line A-A in FIG. 3A;

FIG. 4A schematically shows the aid device of FIG. 3A in foldedcondition;

FIG. 4B is a schematic cross section of the aid device of FIG. 4A;

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross section of the aid device in disengagedcondition;

FIG. 6 is a plan view comparable to FIG. 3A of another embodiment of anaid device according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a portion of an aid device, toexplain terminology and to explain the prior art.

An aid device made of flexible low-friction sheet material comprises acentral body portion 100 with a general quadrangular shape. It is notedthat in practice corners may be rounded and edges do not necessarilyhave to be straight.

Reference numeral 101 indicates a central line, vertical in the figure.This line will in use be parallel to the user's leg, and its directionwill also be indicated as longitudinal direction. The central bodyportion will usually be symmetrical with respect to central line 101, aswill in fact be the aid device, but this is not essential.

When applied to the user's leg, as will be explained in more detaillater, the lower end of the central line 101 will point towards theuser's upper body and the upper end of the central line 101 will pointtowards the user's toes. These directions will be indicated as ProximalLongitudinal Direction PLD and Distal Longitudinal Direction DLD,respectively.

While it is possible that the central body portion 100 is rectangular oreven square, it preferably is wider (and hence larger in circumference)at the proximal end than at the distal end. Therefore, FIG. 1 shows thecentral body portion 100 as a trapezium shape having a distal edge 102extending in substantial transverse direction and having a proximal edge103 extending in substantial transverse direction and being longer thanthe distal end 102. First and second side edges 104 and 105 extend fromthe distal edge 102 to the proximal edge 103, tapering towards eachother in the Distal Longitudinal Direction DLD. Each side edge makes anangle with the central line 101 in the range from zero to 45°, typicallyin the range from 5° to 15°.

The central body portion 100 is intended to be folded to a tube orfunnel shape, around a central axis substantially parallel to thecentral line 101. This means that the distal edge 102 takes the form ofa closed loop, and the same applies to the proximal edge 103. The sideedges 104 and 105 remain substantially straight, and are arrangedparallel to each other. This condition is illustrated in FIG. 2. It isnoted that in practice in this condition the central body portion 100will not be a stiff tube, as maybe suggested by the figure, but behavesmore like a plastic bag with two open ends.

For keeping the side edges 104 and 105 close to each other, the centralbody portion 100 is provided with a first engagement area 114 arrangedalong the first side edge 104 and a second engagement area 115 arrangedalong the first side edge 105. The first engagement area 114 is providedwith first engagement members 124 and the second engagement area 115 isprovided with second engagement members 125 The first and secondengagement members 124, 125 are designed to engage each other inreleasable manner. EP-2478800 teaches the use of magnetic engagementmembers.

For removing the aid device from between a leg and stockings, the aiddevice comprises a pulling handle 130 having a relatively wide distalend 132 and a narrower free end 133. This pulling handle 130 is alsomade of the low-friction sheet material. In prior art, the pullinghandle 130 has its distal end 132 attached to the distal edge 102 of thecentral body portion 100, and will in use be made to extend over thecentral body portion 100 in the Proximal Longitudinal Direction PLD sothat its free end 133 extends beyond the proximal edge 103, as shown. Itcan be seen that the longitudinal direction of the pulling handle 130 issubstantially parallel to the central line 101 and that the pullingforce will substantially be exerted in the Proximal LongitudinalDirection PLD.

It will be understood that in this prior art aid device the pullinghandle 130 will exert its pulling force on the distal edge 102 of thecentral body portion 100, in a direction perpendicular to this distaledge 102, and at a position diametrically opposite the engaged sideedges 104 and 105, which will normally be positioned below the user'sfoot. This is not an optimal solution.

With this prior art aid device, because of the pulling handle 130 beingof flexible material, it is further inconvenient that, while the user ispulling at the support stocking to put it on, the portion of the pullinghandle 130 of the aid device extending above the upper edge of thesupport stocking is dangling down, so that, when the user wishes to gethold of the pulling handle 130 in order to use it, he must pull up thatportion of the pulling handle 130.

FIG. 3A is a view comparable to FIG. 1, on a smaller scale and partlybroken away, to illustrate the solution of an aid device 1 proposed bythe present invention. FIG. 3B shows a schematic cross section alongline A-A in FIG. 3A. The sheet of material is shown exaggeratedly thick,at reference numeral 10. An upper surface of the material is indicatedat 11, while a lower surface is indicated at 12. Engagement members 124,125 are schematically shown at the side of the lower surface 12, havingtheir engagement sides directed towards each other.

Instead of a pulling handle 120 attached to the distal edge 102 of thecentral body portion 100, the present invention proposes to have atleast one pulling handle attached to one of the side edges 104, 105 andextending in a direction substantially perpendicular to this one sideedge. Although the invention is already effective if only one pullinghandle is used, it is preferred to have two pulling handles 204 and 205,as shown in the figures, attached to the respective engagement areas114, 115 at the side opposite the central body portion 100.

Each pulling handle 204, 205 is longitudinal in a directionsubstantially perpendicular to the side edges 104, 105. In order to beable to fit in the drawing, part of the pulling handle is shown cutaway.

Each pulling handle 204, 205 is preferably made from a low frictionmaterial, more preferably the same material as the body 100.

It is noted that an engagement area 114, 115 may be implemented as partof the central body portion 100, as part of a corresponding pullinghandle 204, 205, or as a separate part between the central body portion100 and the corresponding pulling handle.

It is further noted that an engagement area 114, 115 may extend over theentire length of a side edge 104, 105, or only over a part of thatlength, as shown.

It is further noted that, instead of an engagement area 114, 115 locatedin between the corresponding pulling handle 204, 205 and the centralbody portion 100, it is also possible that the pulling handles 204, 205are attached directly to the central body portion 100 and that theengagement areas 114, 115 extend to the underside, having an upper edgeattached to the pulling handles 204, 205 and/or the central body portion100 and having a free lower edge.

In use, the central body portion 100 is again folded to its operativefunnel shape, similar to the illustration in FIG. 2, and the engagementmembers 124, 125 are brought into engagement. FIG. 4A is a perspectiveview comparable to FIG. 2 illustrating this folded condition, with partsof the pulling handles 204, 205 shown cut away for sake of simplicity.

It is noted that the side edge 104, 105 make an angle with the centralline 101 in the range from zero to 46°, typically in the range from 5°to 15°. However, in the folded condition, with the engagement members124, 125 engaged, the side edge 104, 105 extend parallel to each otherand will be directed in the longitudinal direction of the user's foot,at the lower side of that foot.

The user, who will typically be sitting down, puts his foot into theinterior of said funnel shape, at the side of the proximal edge 103, andshifts his foot towards the distal edge 102. Depending on size anddimension, his toes will project beyond the distal edge 102 or not. Theengaged side edges 104 and 105 are located under his foot. The aiddevice 1 is now in a condition of being wrapped around the foot. FIG. 4Bis a schematic cross section comparable to FIG. 3B of the aid device 1in the folded and wrapped condition, also showing a cross section of afoot F. It can be seen that the aid device 1 now in fact has a generalΩ-shape: the central body 100 forms a loop over the foot F, with thelower surface 12 of the central body 100 being always directed towardsthe foot F. The two pulling handles 204 and 205 will extend sidewaysfrom under the user's foot F, having their upper surfaces 11 directedtowards the upper surfaces 11 of the central body 100, and meeting thecentral body 100 at the position of the engagement members 124, 125.

The user takes these two handles 204, 205, pulls them up and together tomake these handles cross above his foot and in front of his lower leg.It is now desired that the handles be maintained in this position. Tothat end, the free ends of the two handles 204, 205 can be tied togetherand the joint can be placed on the knee or on the upper leg above theknee. To facilitate this, the free ends of the two handles 204, 205 arepreferably provided with coupling means, for instance velcro or snapconnectors, but this is not shown for sake of simplicity. Alternatively,it is possible that the two handles 204, 205 actually form a continuouspiece of material, or have their free ends connected by a piece ofelastic band.

It is noted that, in the case of only one pulling handle, it is alsopossible that the free end thereof is provided with means for keepingthe end of the pulling handle in place above the user's knee, forinstance in the form of a loop. This as such also applies to prior artdevices.

The user now puts on the stockings.

After having put on the stockings, the aid device can be removed bypulling the two handles 204, 205. It is an advantage of the inventionthat these two handles can easily be grabbed by the fact that they areheld in place above the user's knee. The portion actually grabbed by theuser will be indicated as engagement part.

Via the two handles 204, 205, the pulling force is exerted directly ontothe engaged side edges 104 and 105, in a direction substantiallyperpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the side edges 104 and105, thus directly pulling the engagement members 124, 125 apart todisengage, and then pulling the side edges 104 and 105 apart.Consequently, disconnecting the engagement members 124, 125 is easier.

It is noted that, instead of fumbling the central body portion 100 bypulling the distal edge 102 in the proximal longitudinal direction PLD,wherein one more or less cylindrical sheet portion is folded back overitself, the two side edges 104 and 105 are pulled away in a linearmanner in a direction which (at least initially) is substantiallyperpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and in each case asubstantial planar sheet portion is neatly folded back over itself. FIG.5 is a cross section comparable to FIG. 4B, showing the side edges 104and 105 in the drawn apart condition. It can be seen that the sheetmaterial of the body portion 100 is folded back over itself, but theengagement members 124, 125 do not need to be folded over.

It is further noted that, as compared to the prior art where the singlepulling force is directed in longitudinal direction and must make anacute bend around the user's toes, the two pulling forces according tothe invention are directed in circumferential direction around the foot,which involves a more even bending and not interfering with the toes.Further, the user pulls with two hands at opposite sides of theengagement members, and if the two handles are crossed over the foot/infront of the leg, indeed, the pulling force is directed along the user'sskin in a more logical direction.

Thus, removing the aid device is easier.

It is noted that, with two pulling forces being exerted at oppositesides of the engagement members 124, 125, and in opposite directions, itis preferred that these two pulling forces are aligned with each other,i.e. make an angle of 180° with each other. Thus, in one embodiment, thegeneral longitudinal extent of the two handles 204, 205 is perpendicularto the side edges 104 and 105, or in any case substantiallyperpendicular. However, since the pulling forces also need to shift theaid along the foot up the user's leg, and since the two handles 204, 205need to follow the user's leg within the stocking, in anotherembodiment, the general longitudinal extent of the two handles 204, 205makes an angle in the range between 60° and 90° with the longitudinal ofthe side edges 104 and 105, towards the proximal edge 103.

FIG. 6 is a more detailed planar view of an aid device 1 according tothe present invention in unfolded condition. A central body portion isagain indicated at reference numeral 100.

Although not essential for good operation of the aid device 1, apreferred toe portion 250 is shown extending beyond the distal edge 102in distal longitudinal direction DLD. The toe portion 250 has a widthcorresponding to an assumed width of a user's (human) foot, in the orderof 7-10 cm, but the exact width is not essential. Likewise, thelongitudinal extent may be in the order of 10-15 cm, but this is notessential too.

The toe portion 250 may be integral with the central body portion 100,made from the same sheet as an extension of the central body portion100, but may also be made from a different sheet of low-frictionmaterial attached to the central body portion 100.

The central body portion 100 may be provided with stitched seams X1 andX2, making a small angle with each other, to provide a little bit ofstiffness in longitudinal direction to assist the user when folding theaid device to put it on his foot.

Although it is possible to provide the aid device 1 in a range of sizes,to take into account the fact that people have smaller or bigger feetand thinner or thicker legs, this would increase the costs of the aiddevice. For performing its function, the actual size is not of greatimportance, and it may actually be possible to manufacture the aiddevices for adults on a one-size-fits-all basis.

It is further possible to have the aid device 1 have, in its operativecondition, the shape of a “straight” funnel, wherein its diameter variesin linear proportion to the longitudinal position.

However, the present invention also aims to provide the aid device in ashape better adapted to the particular shape of a human foot-ankle-lowerleg body portion.

To this end, the aid device 1 according to the present inventionpreferably comprises an insert piece 260 of the same or similarlow-friction sheet material. The central body portion 100 has a recess150 cut away from the proximal edge 103, the recess having a linearbottom edge at a distance from the distal edge 102 of for instance about10 cm and having linear side edges that may be substantially parallel.The insert piece 260 has a general trapezium shape, with a distal bottomedge 262 having a width equal to the linear bottom edge of the recess150 and attached to the recess bottom edge, side edges attached to therecess side edges, and a proximal top edge 263 wider than the width ofthe recess. In an example, the insert piece ranges from a width of 4 cmat its bottom edge to a width of 11 cm at its top edge. As a result, thecentral body portion 100 has a better fit to the shape of a human foot.

A further preferred feature of the present invention relates to theengagement members 114, 115. In the prior art, magnetic members areused, arranged in pockets sewn into the aid device.

Magnetic engagement members have certain disadvantages. Their shape willresemble a coin, having two parallel main surfaces with a certainsurface area and a certain thickness. The thickness can not be selectedarbitrarily low, because then the magnets become vulnerable as they canbreak. The magnets will exert their attractive forces in a directionperpendicular to their main surfaces, which means that for engagementthey should be arranged in overlapping arrangement, adding to theoverall thickness at that location. As described above, when removingthe aid device, remote parts are pulled and are made to fold back overmore proximal parts such as to slide in between those proximal parts andthe stocking; however, due to their surface extent (diameter), themagnets will resist such folding of the material in which they arearranged.

These disadvantages are avoided in the aid device as proposed by thepresent invention. In a preferred embodiment, the engagement members124, 125 are implemented as small plastic buckles, provided with a thinplastic web portion that can be sewn directly to the low-friction sheetmaterial of the aid device. Thus, integrating the engagement members124, 125 in the aid device is easier.

It should be clear to a person skilled in the art that the presentinvention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments discussed above,but that several variations and modifications are possible within theprotective scope of the invention as defined in the appending claims.Even if certain features are recited in different dependent claims, thepresent invention also relates to an embodiment comprising thesefeatures in common. Even if certain features have been described incombination with each other, the present invention also relates to anembodiment in which one or more of these features are omitted. Featureswhich have not been explicitly described as being essential may also beomitted. Any reference signs in a claim should not be construed aslimiting the scope of that claim.

1. An aid device made of flexible low-friction sheet material having anupper surface and a lower surface comprising: a central body portionadapted to be wrapped around a user's foot and lower leg, with the uppersurface directed outwards and the lower surface directed inwards to theuser's foot and lower leg, wherein the central body portion comprises: adistal edge; a proximal edge generally opposite the distal edge; a firstside edge extending between the distal edge and the proximal edge; asecond side edge extending between the distal edge and the proximaledge, generally opposite the first side edge; a first engagement areaarranged along the first side edge; and a second engagement areaarranged along the second side edge; wherein the first engagement areais provided with one or more first engagement members; wherein thesecond engagement area is provided with one or more second engagementmembers; and wherein the first and second engagement members are adaptedto engage each other for keeping the central body portion in a wrappedcondition; and a first elongate pulling handle for removing the devicefrom the user's foot by exerting a pulling force at an engagement partof the first elongate pulling handle; wherein the first elongate pullinghandle is attached to the central body portion and has a longitudinalextent that makes a first angle in the range between 60° and 90° withthe first side edge.
 2. The aid device according to claim 1, wherein thefirst angle is substantially equal to 90°.
 3. The aid device accordingto claim 1, further comprising a second elongate pulling handle forremoving the device from the user's foot by exerting a pulling force atan engagement part of the second elongate pulling handle, the secondelongate pulling handle attached to the central body portion and havinga longitudinal extent that makes a second angle in the range between 60°and 90° with the second side edge.
 4. The aid device according to claim3, wherein the second angle is substantially equal to 90°.
 5. The aiddevice according to claim 1, wherein the first engagement area isarranged in between the first elongate pulling handle and the centralbody portion.
 6. The aid device according to claim 1, wherein the firstengagement area is arranged in between the first elongate pulling handleand the central body portion; and wherein the second engagement area isarranged in between the second elongate pulling handle and the centralbody portion.
 7. The aid device according to claim 3, wherein the firstand second elongate pulling handles are made from the same or similarlow friction sheet material as the central body portion.
 8. The aiddevice according to claim 1, wherein the first side edge and the secondside edge are substantially parallel in the planar condition of thedevice.
 9. The aid device according to claim 1, wherein the distal edgeis shorter than the proximal edge.
 10. The aid device according to claim1, wherein the first elongate pulling handle tapers from a relativelybroad end at the side of the central body portion to a relatively narrowengagement part.
 11. The aid device according to claim 1, wherein thefirst elongate pulling handle at its engagement part is provided withmeans for keeping that engagement part located at the user's knee. 12.The aid device according to claim 3, wherein the engagement parts arefree ends provided with coupling means for being releasably coupledtogether.
 13. The aid device according to claim 3, wherein theengagement parts are free ends connected together by an elastic band.14. The aid device according to claim 3, wherein the engagement partsare fixed together.
 15. The aid device according to claim 1 furthercomprising a toe portion extending in distal direction from the distaledge.
 16. The aid device according to claim 1 further comprising aninsert piece; wherein the central body portion has a recess cut awayfrom the proximal edge; wherein the insert piece is attached in therecess; and wherein the insert piece has a proximal edge wider than thewidth of the recess.
 17. The aid device according to claim 1, whereinthe engagement members are implemented as buckles.
 18. The aid deviceaccording to claim 17, wherein each buckle comprises a thin plastic websewn to the sheet material.
 19. An aid device suitable for assisting aperson to put on tight elastic support stockings, made of flexiblelow-friction sheet material and comprising: a central body portioncomprising: a distal edge and a proximal edge; a first side edge and asecond side edge; a first engagement area arranged along the first sideedge; and a second engagement area arranged along the second side edge;and at least one elongate pulling handle for removing the device fromthe user's foot by exerting a pulling force at an engagement part of theat least one elongate pulling handle; wherein the at least one elongatepulling handle is attached to the central body portion, and has alongitudinal extent that makes an angle in the range between 60° and 90°with the side edge of the central body to which the at least oneelongate pulling handle is attached.
 20. The aid device according toclaim 3, wherein the first elongate pulling handle and the secondelongate pulling handle are integrally made as a one-piece product.